OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 11/04 — 15/04/2022

Every Friday we take a look back over the week’s biggest Bitcoin and Digital Asset stories making waves in the cryptosphere.

Major news stories this week;

1. Circle announces $400 million raise, partnership with BlackRock.
2. Man who paid $2.9m for NFT of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet set to lose almost $2.9m.
3. Ethereum Merge No Longer Expected in June.
4. Latin American Bitcoin adoption gathers pace as Brazil makes its move.
5. Binance approved in principle by Abu Dhabi as digital asset broker-dealer.

Short Summaries;

1. Crypto payments company Circle announced a $400 million funding round last week. The firm is also partnering with management giant ​​BlackRock as a strategic investor. The round, expected to close in the second quarter, also drew support from Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP and Fin Capital, the company announced.
2. Crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi made headlines in March 2021 when he paid $2.9m for an NFT of Twitter boss Jack Dorsey’s first tweet. But his efforts to resell it have run aground, with a top bid of just $6,800 as of last week. The initial purchase was at the time among the most expensive sales of a non-fungible token, or NFT, and came amid a flurry of interest in the niche crypto assets.
3. After a few weeks of speculation, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko confirmed in a tweet last week that the long-awaited Ethereum Merge will come later than expected. Instead of June, Beiko said that the network’s transition to proof-of-stake is more likely to come “in the few months after.”
4. A comprehensive regulatory framework for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in Brazil is moving closer to reality. Lawmakers will push for draft proposals to be implemented in the first half of 2022. If passed, Brazil will join the growing list of Latin American countries welcoming cryptocurrency at the governmental level.
5. Binance received in-principle approval from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a broker-dealer in digital assets, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume must now complete the application process, according to Richard Teng, Binance’s head for the Middle East and North Africa and a former ADGM executive.

And that’s you up to date with another busy week of Bitcoin and virtual asset news! As always… Happy Friday!